Absence Made Her Heart
by redrider6612
Summary: Oneshot for Boneyard challenge. Sully returns to pick up where they left off, but he's in for a surprise. B&B bickering and ? 'cuz I don't want to spoil it for you. Please R


Booth was making some major inroads on the mound of paperwork on his desk. It was the worst part of his job and he tended to put it off as long as possible, but it was Friday morning and he wanted to get it done before the weekend. He had plans. BIG plans. Stop the presses kind of plans, and nothing and nobody was going to get in the way of them.

Closing one file and opening the next, he was about to dive in when there was a knock on his door. He looked up and frowned at his visitor. _Can't he read_? he thought irritably. He had posted a 'do not disturb' sign to discourage casual 'hey, how ya doin'?' kinda conversations, but he probably figured the sign didn't apply to him.

"Come in!" Booth called in the most uninviting voice he could muster.

The door swung in and there he stood. The only serious competition for Bones' attention he'd ever had charged in, tanned and grinning, dressed in khaki shorts and a garish lime green Hawaiian shirt.

"Hey, Seeley!"

Booth's heart sank. Damn! Why couldn't the man stay gone? Pasting an answering smile on his face, he rose and came around the desk to shake hands. "Sully! How the hell are you? When we didn't hear from you, I thought you mighta got shipwrecked. I had a mental picture of you with a beard down to here, talking to a volleyball," he teased, but his heart wasn't in it. This was the last thing he needed right now, just when he was finally getting somewhere with her.

"Nah, just busy. Ran a charter for awhile, taking people out to swim the reef. Worked as a bartender at a beach bar. You know me, I love to try new things."

Booth nodded, barely holding onto his smile. "So, you back for good or is this just a visit? Come to pick up mail and supplies?"

"Actually, I need to see Tempe, see how she's doing," Sully said. His smile dimmed a little and he suddenly looked worried. "She's not…seeing someone, is she?"

The one question Booth really didn't want to answer. Damn. He tried to sidestep. "Uh, well, you know her, she doesn't tell me everything…"

"Oh…so she hasn't mentioned dating anyone?"

Booth looked away, unable to tell the lie while looking him in the eye. "Nope. Not a word."

"Great!" Sully said with such enthusiasm Booth looked at him again. "Well, it was nice seeing you. Maybe we can meet for a beer later, to catch up?"

Booth smiled and nodded, all the while imagining how satisfying it would be to smash his fist into that damned obnoxious grin. He managed to hold back the urge until he was gone.

She was up on the platform with all the others. Damn. He really wanted to see her alone. Undeterred, he walked up to the bottom of the steps. Angela spotted him first.

"Sully! You're back!"

Smiling, he gave a nervous little wave. "Hi, Angela."

Tempe straightened and turned slowly. He held his breath, hoping to see a smile on her face. Her frown made him forget to breathe. Uh-oh.

"You came back."

"I said I would. Didn't you believe me?"

"You said you'd be gone a year. It's been almost two, so I thought maybe you decided not to."

"Sorry, I lost track of time. Besides, the year time limit was for your benefit. I thought you'd be more likely to say 'yes' if I said it was only going to be for a year." He waited for her to say something, like 'I'm happy to see you' or even 'welcome back', but she just stood there looking at him. "Okey-dokey, well then, can I…speak to you privately?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm in the middle of my preliminary examination of these remains—"

"Which Zach can take over while you're gone," Sully interjected.

"I'd be happy to carry on in your absence, Dr. Brennan," Zach said, eager, as always, to be helpful. Brennan glared at him. "What did I say?" he asked faintly.

Angela stepped close to Brennan and spoke softly. "What's the matter with you? Don't you want to know what he has to say?"

"Not really," Brennan muttered. Angela tilted her head at her and she relented. "Fine. I'll be back in ten minutes."

Stripping off her gloves, she left the platform. Everyone watched the pair head for her office.

"You think we should call Booth?" Hodgins whispered to Angela.

Tempe stalked to her desk and sat down, putting on her most bland mask, determined not to let on how irritated she was. Sully sat in the chair facing her, debating how to begin. She beat him to it.

"I haven't changed my mind. I'm not going to sail away with you."

"That's fine. I sold the boat."

That took the wind out of her sails. "Oh…why?"

He shrugged. "I had enough. A guy offered me a lot more than I paid for it, so I took it as a sign."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Well, I could open that sandwich shop I was talking about. Or I could get back to my carpentry. I really enjoyed that. Or maybe I could rejoin the Bureau. I'm sure they'd rehire me."

She studied him silently for a long moment. She'd never known anyone like him. Apparently he was incapable of committing to anything for long. Two years ago she had found it intriguing. Now she just found it immature. If she stopped to examine what had changed, she would have realized it had to do with a certain FBI agent who had taught her there were people she could depend on to be there for her.

"Well, good luck with that," she finally said, turning to her computer and effectively dismissing him.

"How have you been?" he asked, not ready to leave just yet. He needed to know if he still had a chance with her.

"Fine." Her brief reply was intended to discourage him, but he was made of sterner stuff.

"Dating anyone?"

That earned him an icy glance. "None of your business."

"C'mon, Tempe."

She sighed. It was obvious he wasn't going away until he had what he wanted. She would have to be brutally honest.

"If you must know, I'm dating Booth. We're having our second date tomorrow night."

Sully's smile faded. "Booth?" His expression turned suspicious. "That's funny. I just saw Booth and he didn't mention that."

Hiding her surprise that Booth had concealed the change in their relationship from Sully, she shrugged. "Maybe he didn't think it was any of your business either."

"What happened to your unwritten rule against dating someone you're working with?"

Pursing her lips, she stared at him, wondering how much to tell him. The more she thought about it, the more irritated she got. He sailed away and left her two years ago, didn't write or call the whole time he was gone, and now he comes back and expects her to take up right where they left off? The nerve of the man! No, she didn't owe him a thing.

"If you don't mind, I'm very busy. I'm glad you managed to survive your adventure. Close the door on your way out."

Sully studied her for a moment, looking for some remnant of the feelings she'd once had for him. Her cool stare told him he was wasting his time. Getting to his feet, he hesitated.

"Well, I guess I'll see ya around."

She had already turned her attention back to her monitor. "Sure. Take care of yourself, Sully."

He didn't reply right away, hoping his silence would make her look at him again, but she remained focused on her computer. He'd forgotten how stubborn she could be.

"You too," he finally replied and waited another beat for her to look up. Defeated, his shoulders slumped and he turned and left.

He had to know. There was no way he was going to wait until their date to find out how her encounter with Sully had gone. A phone call wouldn't do…he wanted to see her face. That's why he showed up at her office at quarter of seven.

Pausing in her doorway, he watched her for a couple minutes. She was reading some kind of report, making notes in the margin, frowning in concentration. Looking up as she reached for her coffee cup, she saw him and her hand froze midair.

"Hi," Booth said with a smile.

Her face lit up and her eyes sparkled as she smiled. "Hi. Do we have a new case?"

"No. I just…needed to see you…to see how you're doing."

"I'm fine."

Booth strolled in and dropped into the chair in front of her desk. "How about dinner?"

"We're having dinner tomorrow night."

"That's tomorrow night. I don't know about you, but I eat dinner every night."

Shaking her head, she closed the file in front of her. "You're assuming I don't already have plans."

His cocked a brow at her. "Let me guess. You were going to work for another hour or two, stop for some takeout on the way home, then eat while you read a forensics journal or some other dry, boring piece of literature that only a squint could understand and then go to bed alone. Am I right?"

He knew her too well, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing it from her. "It's Friday night. Maybe I've got a hot date," she said with a teasing quirk to her lips.

Booth straightened, a little worried. It was still early enough in their romantic relationship that he wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't accept a date with another guy. "With--?"

"I'm joking, Booth," she said, relenting. For a strong alpha male, he could be surprisingly insecure at times. "I saw Sully today."

Propping his left ankle on the opposite knee, he focused on the bright yellow stars on his socks, trying to look like he didn't care. He couldn't look at her as he asked, "So, what did you talk about?"

"I think he wanted to get back together. I told him we were dating," she said in that straightforward way of hers.

Booth stared at her, mouth slack. "We? Really? So you…you're not getting back with him?"

She looked puzzled. "Why would I do that?"

"I dunno. I just thought…I mean, you were…involved with him, and then he—"

"Left me to sail the Caribbean for nearly two years? You think I want to get involved with him again? Why, so he can leave me again six months from now when he gets some crazy wanderlust? I may not have the best judgment when it comes to men, but I'm a fast learner!" Why was he trying to push her back to Sully? Didn't he want to date her?

Booth jumped to his feet and held up his hands in a calming gesture. "Okay, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking—"

She stood and reached for her jacket. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's been a long day and I'm really tired."

Before she had finished speaking Booth had stepped around the desk. She turned to find him right there beside her. She opened her mouth to give him hell, but the words died when her eyes met his. There was a softness there that reached down into her heart and the tension from seeing Sully suddenly melted away.

"Dinner?" he whispered hopefully, taking her shoulders in his hands. His eyes dropped to her lips a split second before his mouth swooped down to cover them. This was their fourth kiss—fifth if you counted the mistletoe kiss—and the sensation was still so new, it took her breath away. His tongue nudged and she opened up to welcome his exploration. With a groan he moved closer and angled his head for a better fit. Her breathing hitched and her heart began to pound even as her tongue teased at his, sending his pulse into the stratosphere. Acutely aware of their surroundings, he nibbled playfully at her lips and tongue, dialing back the passion, and she smiled around the kiss.

She pulled back, cheeks flushed, breathing hard, and tried to bring them back to reality. "Where do you want to eat?"

Booth smiled. "The diner?"

"We always go to the diner. Why don't we try that new vegetarian restaurant?"

"Tofu and bean curd is not my idea of a meal."

"Have you ever had it?"

"Well, no, but it just sounds nasty—"

"How can you say you don't like it if you've never tried—"

"Well, I've never eaten locusts, but I know I wouldn't like them either."

"I've had those. They're actually pretty good, and very nutritional—"

Booth shuddered. "Fine. You win. Just forget the locusts."

"You're very narrow-minded, you know—"

"Can we go now?" he cut in.

Shrugging into her jacket, she pulled her hair out of the collar and grabbed her bag. "Really, Booth, you should be open to new experiences. It keeps life interesting."

Nodding, Booth began to guide her towards the door. "Every day's a new experience with you, Bones. And life is never dull, that's for sure." He muttered that last, but her smile told him she had heard.


End file.
